


I Spy With my Pretty Eye a Snack

by NymphadoraTheTemplar



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: M/M, Meet-Cute, Other Characters Are Mentioned, Pre-Relationship, Tumblr Prompt, except it's technically their third time meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-02 16:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15800430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NymphadoraTheTemplar/pseuds/NymphadoraTheTemplar
Summary: Paraphrase of some prompt I once saw on tumblr somewhere[oh hi. my hand got stuck in the vending machine. do you think you could help?]





	I Spy With my Pretty Eye a Snack

**Author's Note:**

> I am glad to give my gratitude to the beta readers from the Kaishin Discord for taking the time to read and help me improve this little piece.  
> Thank you [ZaiBan2989](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaiBan2989), [Rikkamaru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikkamaru/pseuds/Rikkamaru), and [Procrastination_Sensation](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Procrastination_Sensation)!

♤♡♤♡ 

Edogawa Conan had finally taken down the Black Organization with the help of trusted allies after two years. Haibara was able to successfully create an antidote once she gained full access to the research on the organization’s various drugs. After three days of house rest – _or more like house arrest_ in Shinichi's opinion – and dutiful scientific monitoring, Haibara declared that the change was permanent and found no ill side effects. Kudou Shinichi was officially back and in good health. Things were starting to look up.

♧♢♧♢ 

Kuroba Kaito was making a simple breakfast this Saturday morning while the news played on the TV in the background. Most of the news this morning was about the capture and arrest of an underground syndicate that had apparently been running shady operations and commiting crimes for years. Kaito wondered if Snake’s group had any dealings with them; maybe this could be a lead in arresting his group too. According to the reports, much of Japan’s police force worked with the PSB, FBI and CIA, to take down the organization. The main operation had taken place last week, lasting about four days, then four days later they announced to the public the situation and the favourable results.

Sitting down at the table with his food, Kaito flipped through a few channels to see what else there might be. Just about the only other story he could find was about the grand return of the modern Sherlock Holmes, Kudou Shinichi. After debuting as a high school detective, he had suddenly dropped off the radar about two years ago. 

While enjoying his food – his mom was right to recommend this recipe – Kaito idly listened to today’s gossip. There had been rumors saying the curious boy finally stuck his nose in a dangerous case that had gotten him severely injured or killed; others were saying he was still around solving cases secretly. The top rumor this morning was that the great detective’s sudden return and the take down of the underground syndicate weren’t a mere coincidence, Kudou must have been actually working undercover for the police. 

Taking a contemplative bite of his food, the magician found himself lost in thought. This was interesting. If Kudou-kun was as good as the media claimed, he could be a fun challenge. Perhaps the thief ought to invite the detective to a heist as a welcome back greeting; give him a break from all the death the fellow seems to be drawn to, show him a night of mystery and magic. Kaito wanted to make a good impression; Kudou-kun was his favourite detective’s cousin afterall. Already getting excited at the idea, Kaito snickered to himself, quickly polishing off the rest of his food; he had a heist to plan.

─ ♧♢♧♢ ─ 

Kaito spent the rest of the morning researching and planning well into the afternoon. After scanning through articles about new gem exhibits, he had come across a lovely aquamarine pendant called Khione’s Kiss. It was was scheduled to be displayed next month at the Beika Museum. During the last week of this month, the jewel was being held at the Beika University for cleaning and a little heat treatment to bring out its beautiful blue colour for the exhibit. Kaito gathered building blueprints and security information then worked out a general show plan with plenty of backup options, complete with fun traps to keep the task force occupied while he entertained the detective.

Now all that was left was to head over to Beika this evening to check out the university for himself, iron out the last details of his game plan and do some late night preparations. Kaito could have the heist notice and invitation written up and sent by lunch tomorrow.

─ ♤♡♤♡ ─ 

That night he woke with a start from another nightmare about the Black Organization and everything going wrong. _His friends and family were being—no. No, that was wrong. Everything turned out alright. The operation was carefully planned and was a success with no casualties, only minor injuries. Everyone was safe. This wasn't a dream, the nightmare was. That battle was over._

 

Taking deep breaths, Shinichi focused on calming his heart rate. He sat up, glancing at the clock above his bed: 1:47 in the morning. He had gotten about a couple hours of sleep and should probably try to catch up on some more, but was wide awake from that nightmare and didn’t feel like going back to sleep so soon. A walk in the park sounded like a more relaxing idea.

Shinichi threw a long thick coat over his pale blue pajamas; put on his tranquilizer watch, now with a bigger band to fit his wrist, since he still felt a little paranoid from the nightmare, better safe than sorry; grabbed his phone and wallet then headed towards the nearby park.

─ ♤♡♤♡ ─ 

Feeling calmer now that he had wandered around the park for a while, Shinichi started to notice how cool it had become. Afterall, autumn was underway causing the air to steadily drop in temperature. There were chilly breezes moving in, brushing against his face. In a way the crisp feel of the cold was refreshing.

The glow of a vending machine caught his eye. A warm can of coffee sounded really good right now.

♧♢♧♢ 

With his heist preparations carefully set in place, Kaito made a stealthy exit out of the university. He quietly hummed a cheerful tune, checking the time on his phone, 1:44 am, meaning the trains have stopped running for the night. Well not to worry, he brought his hanglider since he figured the preparations might keep him late. It was about a forty five minute walk to the Touto Tower from the Beika University, once there he could glide all the way home. Kaito set off into the night blending in with the darkness dressed in his dark outfit and black wool coat.

♤♡♤♡ 

_Oh wonderful._ Just his reliable luck. The drink decided to get stuck. Shinichi was a little cold and a little sleep deprived from the busy two weeks he survived. He just wanted a warm coffee, was that so much to ask.

 _Well on the bright side the drink seems close enough to the dispenser, perhaps if I_ …without much thought his left hand was already sneaking its way into the slot. _Almost there, just a little farther, and there!_ His fingers barely nudged the can enough, causing it to jostle free.

 

_Haha success!_ Now all he needed to do was remove his hand, allowing the drink to fall into place and claim his pri—all he needed to do was, remove, his, hand. Tugging at his hand, it felt like the wristband of his watch had caught onto something. Ah, the advantage of a sturdy and durable wristband was now a problem if he wanted to try to break it without causing harm to his wrist. 

 

_What is going on?_ He didn't understand; he was able to easily fit his hand in small spaces like this befo—right. Before. When he was Conan. With a long sigh Shinichi leaned his forehead against the machine with a soft thump. _This is ridiculous_ , in his tired state he accidentally reverted to Conan mindset for a moment.

Whelp. He was stuck. _So now what?_

♧♢♧♢ 

Kaito was cutting through the Beika Park when he spotted an interesting sight. It looked like someone was leaning against the vending machine. _Did someone get drunk and fall asleep?_ As he approached the slumped figure Kaito noticed something amusing, it seemed the person didn’t simply fall asleep there but rather got their hand stuck in the machine. It only became funnier as Kaito got closer and realized of all the people to encounter in a park at, he checked his phone, 2:21 in the morning, it was none other than Kudou Shinichi.

The thief had seen some photos of the detective before in various articles here and there but that was nothing compared to seeing his face in person, even when poorly lit by the glow of the vending machine. Kaito realized that he could be the brother of tantei-kun, he was practically an older version of the little detective sans the glasses. He also realized that rather than sleeping, the detective had his eyebrows drawn over beautiful blue eyes in a familiar look of contemplation. _Huh, almost as adorable as tantei-kun._

A small grin naturally slipped onto the prankster’s face, looks like Kaito didn’t need to wait until his heist to have a little fun with the detective.

♤♡♤♡ 

He could try calling a friend for help.

 

But who could he call, it’s—right he couldn’t check his watch, stuck in the vending machine. Pulling out his phone to check, 2:18 am, right, that was not a favourable time to be waking someone up because he foolishly got his hand stuck, in a vending machine, of all things.

 

Ran would normally be his first choice as she would be glad to help. However at the moment she was still a little upset over finding out that Shinichi was in fact Conan this whole time.  
As soon as the operation, statements and police paperwork was finished, he’d called Ran over to his house to explain everything, the whole story. His childhood friend was in a bit of disbelief at first but she also had the feeling deep down that despite all his clever lying, she knew. Then when Haibara (Ran finally understood why she gave off such a mature vibe for her apparent age) presented the antidote for him to try, no doubt was left in her mind, Shinichi was Conan.

Despite still recovering from being hurt by someone close to her, he knew Ran would still come to his rescue because that’s how kind of a soul she is; but Shinichi couldn't do that to his dear friend on top of all the pain he's already caused. It was best to give her space and time.

 

Sonoko might—no no bad idea, not happening. He did not need to deal with her annoyance at being bothered so late, let alone the teasing that was sure to follow.

Hattori was all the way in Osaka; and just as likely to tease him, maybe not as obnoxiously but still teasing nonetheless.

His parents were already back in America after visiting him for a couple days when they heard the news. Although he’d just about die of embarrassment if they ever found out about his little predicament so it was just as well.

Although Haibara was likely to still be awake, she couldn’t legally drive, lacking a drivers licence and the fact she was still in the body of an elementary schooler. Yes that was correct, even with a permanent antidote, Haibara Ai liked her new life and dear friends. She had no reason to return to being Miyano Shiho, there was nothing left for her in that life. Anyway if he were to call Haibara for help, that would mean waking the professor up who had been working hard on his latest invention.

_Hmm maybe Sonoko was right about one thing_ , he could socialize a little more, perhaps make a couple more friends. Possibly some that weren’t so inclined to tease him.

 

_Ah what does it matter anyway?_ Even if he did call someone, what could they do to help other than lend him a warm blanket and keep him company for a few hours until they could find someone who could unlock the vending machine?

Another long sigh. He might as well wait here on his own; no need to bother anyone due to his own foolishness.

 

Shinichi shivered as another chilly wind swept through the park. He didn't plan on staying out this long and only grabbed the coat but luckily it wasn't so cold that he'd be in any danger of freezing to death. 

It was going to be another long night.

 

Or so he was resigning himself to when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Oh~ I know I came to get a late night snack but I wasn't expecting to find such a snack”

Shinichi's head jerked up at the sound, spotting a young man in his early twenties—no closer to his own age, eighteen or nineteen. Shinichi’s mind made a quick interesting note of how the young man had some similar features and could pass as his cousin or maybe even his brother. In case the suggestive tone of voice wasn’t enough, the small smirk and slight raise of the eyebrow left no doubt.

He couldn’t stop the sudden warmth that filled his cheeks, colouring them a pretty pink, upon registering those words.

But wait a moment, he recognized that voice, that smirk, that glint in those gorgeous indigo eyes  
“KID? What are you doing here?”

♧♢♧♢ 

Woah, hold on a trick. What did Kudou-kun just call him? That couldn’t be right, he’s never met the guy, in his civilian or thief persona. Sure the Kaitou KID was just as famous as the Heisei Holmes, garnering the complementing nickname Heisei Lupin for himself, but he’d never come across any articles that had detailed information on who he was, just speculations, vague descriptions and blurry photos.

It was possible that tantei-kun had informed him. The thief did hear something about Conan's KID killer skills being all thanks to that high school detective. But based on his own experience dealing with the little detective, the thief felt that a little more credit was due to the boy. 

It seemed that he had a reason to hide his true intellect, a skill the magician understood to be valuable having learned it from his father, and didn't actually contact his nii-chan as much as the boy made others believe. 

 

Kaito didn't think Tantei-kun would bother telling his cousin since he showed no signs of pursuing KID outside of heists; and even then he had come up with various reasons as to why he would let the thief go. The child didn't seem that concerned with catching him so much as enjoying the puzzles and delivering his deductions. 

Besides, Kudou-kun typically worked on homicide cases, he didn’t show any interest in larceny as far as Kaito was aware of and Kaito was usually aware of these things as he likes to keep tabs on potential obstacles. 

 

Despite these thoughts flying through his head, the magician maintained his casual poker face.  
“Kid? Well I’ll admit I may act a bit childish because honestly, adults can be so dull, but I would hope that one could tell that I’m a young man”

An unamused look. “You know I don’t mean a child, I mean you are KID, the Kaitou KID”

Another quirk of the eyebrow “Well that’s a surprise, what makes you think that?” _Seriously meitantei how do you know?_

“Of course I would be able to recognize you because—” he looked to be suddenly at a loss for words; a look Kaito wouldn’t have guessed he’d have the pleasure of seeing on the great detective’s pretty face. _Now this is certainly interesting._ Kudou-kun was so sure he was looking at KID without really knowing why himself.

After a moment of the detective’s sharp stare, his bright blue eyes seemed to have found the answer, softly breaking the silence, “It’s your eyes.”

Indigo eyes blinked back, “My eyes?”

Kudou-kun nodded and said so softly Kaito almost didn't hear it, “The smirk was very KID-esque but it's your eyes that have that interesting swirl of mischief, cunning, confidence, determination and kindness.”

Kaito was as quick with his tongue and mind as he was on his feet; as one needed to be when you practiced the kinds of activities he did. However, in this moment, his experience was failing him as he was having trouble processing what he just heard, if he really heard correctly. No, he had pretty good hearing, there wasn't much room for mishearing in the empty park. 

 

So why did it sound like such a fond compliment, from a detective? Kaito thought they were supposed to be opposed to lawbreakers. Although tantei-kun never seemed to be too bothered by the thief’s antics.  
Speaking of him, tantei-kun was the only person who’s never met his civilian persona, to get close enough to get a good look at his eyes. So how did Kudou-kun know—unless…that familiar look of contemplation he spotted earlier in those deep blue eyes, but how was _that_ possible? Well he _did_ know a witch and he _was_ searching for a gem that supposedly granted eternal life. It could very well be possible but, was it true?

“Tantei-kun?”

♤♡♤♡ 

Shinichi suddenly processed fully what he just said to the thief. Any tired fogginess that was left in his mind was cleared away now. _Seriously, what was I thinking, saying that to KID_. His ego was big enough without the compliment and why did he have to say it in such a fond voice.

Wait that was not the biggest surprise here. He just heard the thief call him ‘tantei-kun’ and Shinichi was pretty sure he wasn’t referring to his famous title. No, ‘tantei-kun’ was what the thief called Conan.

But how did he know; well KID was one of the only people who seemed to understand him. He may have been a thief but he was also called a gentleman thief for a reason. He certainly showed Conan just as much respect and took him just as seriously if not more than the KID task force. 

At heists there were moments where it felt like it was just the detective and the thief in a battle of wits. When he interacted with the Kaitou KID, he wasn’t a naive elementary schooler that couldn’t have much of importance to say nor an arrogant high schooler that rushed a bit too quickly into dangerous situations; he was just himself, solving another mystery.

So if anyone could look at Shinichi and recognize him for being him, well KID was a likely candidate right after Ran.

Right. KID was still staring at him with a carefully neutral expression, waiting for a reply. 

Shinichi couldn’t help it. He let out an airy laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation. What a night this was turning out to be. “That’s right, you’re looking at the KID killer, thwarted by a vending machine.”

KID’s face broke into an attractive grin of amusement, “Don’t tell me you forgot you’re no longer pint sized.”

“Hey, in case you haven’t heard the rumors, it’s been a busy couple weeks for me. Pardon me if I’m a little tired and still adjusting to rapidly growing back to my proper size after two years of having to act like a child.” Despite the slightly exasperated tone, there was still a small smile on his face.

“You never cease to surprise me tantei-kun, or should I call you meitantei now,” KID casually leaned against the vending machine, “Here I thought I was supposed to be the one providing the mystery in this relationship but it looks like you have your fair amount of puzzles. Care to share the solution with a fellow lover of the intriguing?”

“As eloquent as ever I see. How about you help me free myself and once I’m someplace warmer, preferably with some hot coffee, I can tell you my story,” Shinichi replied as he suppressed a shiver.

KID had already whipped a lockpick out of seemingly nowhere and went to work opening the machine with a dazzling grin, “It’s a date then!”

♧♢♧♢ 

Kaito delighted at the flustered sound of weak protest tantei-kun muttered as the thief made quick work of the easy lock and had the detective free within a minute.

Standing from his position on the ground to leisurely stretch with his arms raised above his head, Kudou-kun produced a small pleased noise and soft “Thanks.” Although Kaito almost missed it, distracted by the bit of temporarily exposed skin. He knew the detective had to be fit with all the running he did, not to mention his soccer skills but he’d never pondered how fine he would look.

Anyways. _Pay attention to meitantei he looks like he wants to say something important._ Shifting into an affable stance, “I’m Kudou Shinichi. It’s nice to finally meet you as myself, even if it’s not the most conventional of circumstances but then again when has my life ever been conventional.” His sapphire eyes sparkled with mirth. Kaito could get used to the sight.

“If I’m to take you out on a date I really must properly introduce myself.”

“Are you sure you should be telling a detective your real name?” _How adorable_ , meitantei actually looked a little eager at the prospect.

“I believe it’s only fair you know my other name seeing as I know both of yours,” the magician provided amiably enough. “Besides, I think we’ve both realized you were never as interested in arresting me so much as catching me,” Kaito finished with a wink.

Before Kudou-kun could protest Kaito gave a sweeping bow, “The name’s Kuroba Kaito,” arising with an outstretched arm, just a snap of the fingers and a beautiful blue rose appeared accompanied by a bright smile, “magician extraordinaire”

─── ♤♡♧♢ ─── 


End file.
